Chapter 61

On the morning of May 10th, in the ninth year of the Tenmon era.

Kousuke and Chushirou led fifty men from the northeastern entrance of Nogatacho, under the banner of bandits, and entered the territory of the Tayahara family with great fanfare. The group moved slowly, and the farmers in the fields, thinking the bandits were coming to raid again, hurriedly hid in their homes. After three hours of marching, they finally encountered the Tayahara family's samurai, who had rushed over with peasant soldiers to intercept them. Kousuke arrogantly told the samurai who came to negotiate that "Banishi Dairo" demanded an additional 200 koku of coarse grain as a condition for the alliance, and then set up camp on the spot to await the Tayahara family's response.

In Tayahara Castle, upon receiving the bandits' new alliance demands, Tayahara Kyougi flew into a rage, shouting, "What? These bandits from hell, have they not yet had enough from our family? Is Banishi Dairo not coming in person? Is this a show of disrespect to our family?"

As the head of the family, Tayahara Sadayoshi merely smiled and continued to ask the samurai who had brought the news, "How many bandits are there?" To be honest, he didn't really care about the additional condition. After all, through the copper mines, the Tayahara family had already exchanged for enough grain. Just the unpolished rice alone, there was at least 3,000 koku in the granary. As long as they conquered the Komatsu and Fujiwara families, they could make up for it.

"There are 52 people in total, and the leader is a small headman who just exchanged supplies with us," the samurai bowed and said.

"Very well, tell them I agree to the condition. The grain will be prepared soon. After receiving the grain, have them camp at the border checkpoint with the Komatsu family," Tayahara Sadayoshi instructed.

"Yes, my lord," the samurai accepted the order and left.

"Father, why agree to their unreasonable demands? These bandits will surely become more demanding and constantly blackmail us," Tayahara Kyougi, who was furious, was shocked and asked.

"Ha ha ha, Dairo, this time Banishi Dairo sent over 50 bandits, which is most of their fighting force. As long as we keep these bandits in check, we don't need to worry about Banishi Dairo secretly attacking our rear. This way, we can focus on the combined forces of the two families," Tayahara Sadayoshi laughed and said.

"But Banishi Dairo did not come this time. I am worried there might be a plot," Tayahara Kyougi said with concern.

"Hmph, according to Banishi Dairo's situation over a month ago, he has at most 60 subordinates. Now that most of them are here, what kind of plot can the remaining few bandits pull off? I bet Banishi Dairo is now hugging that Ichimonji Yoshikage and dreaming," Tayahara Sadayoshi said sarcastically. "Continue dreaming, Banishi Dairo, your days are numbered."

"Tarou, go arrange the grain. After handing it over to them, immediately urge them to go to the campsite and tell them to cooperate with our family's actions. Also, before the troops set out, bring that small headman with you to monitor them and prevent them from causing trouble," Tayahara Sadayoshi continued.

"Yes, Father," Tayahara Kyougi bowed and accepted the order, though he was still worried, he could not find enough reasons to convince his father, so he had no choice but to accept the order and leave.

At this moment, in a forest a few miles away from Tayahara Castle, Masahiro was leading 20 cloaked men hiding in the bushes on both sides of the forest. According to the plan, after settling the affairs of the territory, last night, Masahiro led 40 cloaked men and 50 ashigaru to secretly infiltrate the Tayahara family's territory through a small path from Mount Nogata. This time, Masahiro was taking a huge risk. If the Kitano family in the southwest learned of the empty territory, it would be difficult to defend with just a dozen ashigaru. But if the plan succeeded, the territory would gain significant benefits.

After meeting in a valley at the foot of Mount Nogata, Masahiro unexpectedly received intelligence from Ichinokuni, who had returned to the Komatsu family. According to the alliance, to ensure mutual trust, the Komatsu and Fujiwara families would each send a hostage to the other. To avoid being detected by the Tayahara family's scouts, the samurai protecting the hostages were only a few. According to the route, they should meet at the border between the two territories, confirm the hostages, and then escort them back to their original territories. Masahiro made a quick decision, leaving Ogasawara Kuniyoshi and Tsuda Masahide to lead part of the cloaked men and ashigaru to wait for Kousuke's signal. Masahiro led 20 cloaked men, taking advantage of Kousuke's slow and ostentatious march to attract everyone's attention, and crossed the Tayahara family's territory to reach the current ambush site in the forest.

Looking at his watch, it was already past four in the afternoon. According to Ichinokuni's estimate, the two families' hostages should be arriving soon. Masahiro signaled the cloaked men to focus, and he stared intently at the small road outside the forest, silently praying that Ichinokuni's intelligence was accurate. Time was now the most precious thing for Masahiro. Only if the three families suddenly escalated the conflict could Masahiro take advantage of the chaos before the other "hawks" reacted. Attacking the two families' hostages and framing the Tayahara family would surely anger the other two families and trigger a conflict among the three families.

"Flap, flap, flap." Several birds suddenly flew up from the distant forest. Masahiro's eyes lit up, and he fixed his gaze on the small road outside the forest. Soon, two groups of five people each appeared at the ends of the road, just as Ichinokuni had described. The two groups quickly met, and two young men, both in their twenties, walked out from each group, bowed to each other, and then walked to the other group. It seemed the hostage exchange was complete.

"Attack!" Seeing the right moment, Masahiro shouted, drew the Ichimonji Yoshikage, and charged out first. The 20 cloaked men drew their weapons and surrounded the two groups from all sides. "Cut down!" In a few short steps, Masahiro saw a samurai preparing to draw his sword to defend. He used his highest sword technique, and with a "swish," the dark blade flashed across the samurai's waist, instantly cutting him in half. "Attack!" Seeing their lord's ferocity, the cloaked men were greatly encouraged and charged at the enemy with loud shouts. The two groups were caught off guard and several were killed instantly.

The battle was quickly over. Looking at the ten bodies on the ground, Masahiro immediately ordered the men to collect the valuables and weapons. Even a small mosquito is still meat.

After everything was cleaned up, Masahiro approached the two bodies, kicked one of them, and said arrogantly, "Heh heh, do you think Lord Tayahara doesn't know about your secret alliance and plans to attack our family? Lord Tayahara has already mobilized the peasant soldiers in the territory and will be ready by tomorrow at the latest. This is just the first battle before Lord Tayahara's attack. Bring the heads of the two hostages to Lord Tayahara for credit."

"My lord, should we dispose of the remaining bodies?" one of the cloaked men asked.

"No, we don't have time. We need to return to the camp and meet up with Lord Tayahara. There seems to be a bigger operation on his side. Cut off the heads and leave immediately," Masahiro said.

"Yes, my lord," the cloaked men accepted the order and left.

After cutting off the two heads, Masahiro led the unharmed men away hurriedly. A short while after Masahiro left, the body he had kicked a few times suddenly got up, holding the bleeding wound, and staggered towards Komatsu's Chibaki Castle. This was a samurai that Masahiro deliberately left alive, and the words he had spoken were also deliberate, to let the Komatsu and Fujiwara families know that the attack was carried out by the Tayahara family and that the Tayahara family had already mobilized their forces to attack them first.

In the evening, in Chibaki Castle, Komatsu Daizo was discussing the plan to attack the Tayahara family the day after tomorrow with his retainers in the council hall. Suddenly, an ashigaru stumbled in, shouting, "Bad news, my lord."

Komatsu Daizo flew into a rage, shouting, "What is the matter?"

"My... my lord, the young lord was killed by the bandits of the Tayahara family, and the young lord of the Fujiwara family was also killed," the ashigaru knelt on the ground, trembling.

"Ah?" The council hall was filled with shock, and Komatsu Daizo was stunned by the sudden news.

"Speak quickly, what happened? How could the young lord be killed?" a retainer immediately shouted.

"My lord, a samurai responsible for escorting the young lord escaped and returned. The samurai said they were attacked by the Tayahara family's troops, and the young lord and others were killed. The young lord's body is being transported back, but..." the ashigaru whispered, bowing to the ground.

"But what?" At this point, Komatsu Daizo had regained his composure and, suppressing his grief, asked.

"But the young lord's head was taken by the bandits of the Tayahara family," the ashigaru said cautiously, fearing Komatsu Daizo's anger.

"Ah? The old villain Sadayoshi has gone too far!" Komatsu Daizo drew his katana and shouted, "Men, gather the troops and notify the Fujiwara family. We will attack the Tayahara family tomorrow and tear Sadayoshi to pieces."

"Yes, my lord," seeing the lord's anger, no one dared to dissuade him.

Watching the retreating men, Komatsu Daizo was in agony. Although he had lost a direct son, he still had several other sons, but they were all his children. Moreover, the Tayahara family had somehow discovered their plans, which shocked him even more.

In the middle of the night, in Fujiwara Castle, Fujiwara Masahiro, who was anxious about the delayed return of the hostage escort, also received the bad news from the Komatsu family. Fujiwara Masahiro immediately convened his retainers to discuss the plan to attack and seek revenge the next day.

For a moment, the shadow of war loomed over the territories of the three families.

(PS: This is the fourth week of the new book release. It has already been A-signed and has been updated with over 170,000 words, with no plans to stop. At least 1.5 million words. Last week, it was on the Sanjiang Potential List, this week on the New Book Recommendation List, and next week on the Historical Strong Recommendation List. It is the top new historical book and seventh on the overall new book list. Dear readers, don't leave after reading. Even if you don't have votes, add it to your bookshelf. I beg you. My goal is to write at least 1.5 million words, even if it means a spectacular failure. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude.)

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